Wow. Huge week of comics. Jason Aaron was responsible for five books all by himself this week! And I only get 10 nominees for the Best Book of the Week. So… No BATMAN AND ROBIN #5, BATWOMAN #5, GREEN LANTERN #5 or SUPERBOY #5 today. Say what?! No SECRET AVENGERS #21 or JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #633 either. That’s insane! BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON 9 FREEFALL #5? Almost. SEVERED #6? Not quite. WOLVERINE #300 was just a trip! Sky Yakuza go! X-FACTOR #230 was surprisingly good and the first part of the Daredevil/Spider-Man crossover in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #677 was well done. Liked them all. SPAWN #215. I could go on. But I gotta pick. And I pick these.

Nominees!

COBRA ANNUAL 2012 ORIGIN OF COBRA COMMANDER #1 – FYI. It’s done GI Joe style. Not Cobra style. And has to get nominated today because the question I’ve been asked more than any other over the past month was, "Who is the new Cobra Commander?" "Who is Krake?" I was very curious myself. And now we know. Born on the first page, joined the Cobra hierarchy on the last. Did enjoy. Although I wish it would have been done Cobra style. Just proves the Rolling Stones were right: you can’t always get what you want!

INVINCIBLE #87 – Tied the outer space plot (Allen the Alien wanting to kill the surviving Viltrumites) to the Earth plot (Invincible teaming up with Dinosaurus to save the planet). Featured both a great Dinosaurus CHOMP! and a great last page. Really happy that Invincible is back to a regular shipping schedule. Really hitting its stride again and 2012 just might be shaping up to be an Invincible year.

PUNISHERMAX #21 – The Punisher is literally dead on his doorstep! The Kingpin took a hammer to the temple and a wicked bullet to the back of the head. And the only person smiling is Mrs. Fisk. Lots of flashbacks. Loved seeing Barracuda. Gonna end great. Next month: Punishermax R.I.P!

RAY #2 (OF 4) – The first issue was surprisingly good. So, much higher expectations for issue #2 and those expectations were easily met. Featured an attack by flying monster stingrays, one of the worst ideas ever for impressing your girlfriend’s father, and flaming silver metal balls that rain down from the sky. Silver metal balls that transform into giant metal centipedes and then capture your girlfriend. Try explaining that to Pops!

SCALPED #55 – Dash vs. Shunka! It was awesome! Wait. Wait. Hold up a minute. I need to rip out all the dental/medical work that’s been done to my mouth. “FBI. You’re under arrest!” I laughed and laughed and laughed. Scalped!

SHADE #4 (OF 12) – Set in 1944. Drawn by Darwyn Cooke. Reminded me of DC The New Frontier. The Shade is on a mission to save Darnell Caldecott, a wealthy industrialist who has thrown all his money behind the war effort, from a Nazi assassination plot. The Vigilante, a two-fisted cowboy on a motorcycle, and Madam Fatal (aka Richard Stanton), a retired actor who uses the guise of a woman to fight crime, help him out. Half the book was lettered in fancy cursive writing. Which I hate. Makes it a little tough to read. And yet I read it all and it was excellent.

STRANGE TALENT OF LUTHER STRODE #4 (OF 6) – Seriously. This is Invincible. This is Chew. You need to read this. In the back of the book, writer Justin Jordan talks about how this was the “explanation” issue. And it was. Talks about how he’s big on inference and letting things go unsaid. It’s hard to do. He does it very well. Just enough info/back story woven right into the story for us to fill in the details ourselves. Excellent.

SUICIDE SQUAD #5  – Opening page with Deadshot was great. Nine bullets to the head! And King Shark would have had the CHOMP! of the week if not for Dinosaurus. Plus Diablo stepped up big time. But the best thing about the issue is what it’s all been leading up to. Talked about it on the DC All Access page. It’s all about Harley Quinn. Have enjoyed Suicide Squad since issue #1. This issue got me excited about Suicide Squad and what’s coming next.

WHISPERS #1 – Andy gave you a highlight. Great start. A germ-a-phobic, 20-something slacker gets the power to dream walk. Think Dr. Strange on the astral plane without the magic and the grey hair. Introduced a lot of characters. Introduced a lot of plot points. Once again didn’t get deep into any explanations, just got me very interested to see what happens. I’m in.

WOLVERINE AND X-MEN #4 – Fantastic once again. Didn’t realize Jason Aaron (Punishermax, Scalped) had a lighter side to his writing. This book is just funny. Angel was hilarious. Deathlok was hilarious. And the ending was hilarious. It’s not your daddy’s X-Men, your Grant Morrison X-Men or even your Matt Fraction X-Men. But it IS my pick for the Best Book of the Week! Again!

Very curious to see what wins the poll this week. Lots of good books to choose from. Vote it up!

See ya!

Rusty